


nuisance

by kuroopaisen



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gremlin Shenanigans, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Timeskip, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29819427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroopaisen/pseuds/kuroopaisen
Summary: claude has a great idea for a prank on seteth. once again, you're roped into his shenanigans.
Relationships: Claude von Riegan/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	nuisance

**Author's Note:**

> this is an older fic but i'm fond of it hh it's been edited a little but i think i've grown!

“Claude.” 

“Yeah?” 

“This is a terrible idea.” 

Claude popped his head out from underneath the desk, winking at you. “You just need to think bigger.”

You ignored that. “What are you even doing under there?”

“Just checking that it’s not bolted to the ground.”

You decided it was better not to ask why he had to huddle under the desk like a gremlin to confirm that. Not that he ever explained his methods to you. 

“Well?” You sighed, crossing your arms. 

“It’s not.” 

Claude crawled out and hopped to full height, smiling at you. It was a smile that was full of all sorts of mischief. A smile you, unfortunately, knew well. 

You raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Come on,” he grinned, grabbing your shoulders. “It’s a _great_ idea.”

“I’m not so sure.” 

“Please?” He pouted at you, eyes big and puppy-like. The look is a complete lie; not once in your time knowing him has Claude von Riegan ever been innocent _or_ pitiful. You almost hated yourself for how quickly you gave in. 

“Fine,” you grumbled, your gaze flitting to the ground. 

“Knew you’d cave,” Claude grinned, ruffling your hair. You had half a mind to slap him away, but he already bounded off before you could do anything. Whatever; it’s not like anyone was going to see you. You _hoped_ no-one would see you. 

“You’re such a nuisance,” you mumbled. But try as you might, you couldn’t hide the smile in your voice. 

“And yet, you still choose to spend time with me.”

Claude looked over his shoulder and smirked at you. Part of you wanted to slap that smirk off his face. The other part of you didn’t mind it. 

You looked at him witheringly, saying nothing. You were too tired to say anything clever back. 

Damn Claude and his quick mind. 

Admittedly, you hadn’t expected to be woken up this late at night to a gentle rapping on your window, followed by what you now knew to be the hoot of an owl. Claude had put his own spin on it. The entire scene had nearly given you a heart attack, until you saw that familiar smug face grinning at you from the window. 

When you had agreed to pull a prank on Seteth, you hadn’t expected something this… ambitious, and yet, low-key. 

Claude was already shuffling furniture around, picking up chairs and setting them down a few paces away. You watched him for a second before letting out a long sigh. This was so _dumb_ , but Seteth would surely notice - and be pissed at - the slight discrepancy. And like the fool you were, you'd agreed to take part in this. 

“Don’t look so grim,” Claude hummed, still focused on the furniture. “I thought you loved doing this sort of stuff.”

“I do,” you responded, without really thinking it through. It wasn’t a _total_ lie; you did enjoy taking part in these schemes, menial as they were. But it wasn’t the act of pulling prank itself that kept you coming back. It was Claude. 

“Then what’s the problem?” He asked, his back to you as he began pulling books off the shelf and turning them upside down before plopping them back in their original place. 

You didn’t quite know. Maybe you were just tired. Or maybe it was something else. 

“I’m just tired,” you said, punctuated by an exaggerated yawn. 

“Oh,” Claude murmured. “Yeah, right. Sorry about that.” 

You were about to ask him if he’d been asleep before this too. No, that was a dumb question. “Up in the library, again?”

“I asked you if you wanted to join me,” he shrugged, turning to grin at you again. 

“And I would’ve said _yes_ , if we hadn’t been up absurdly late _last_ night,” you yawned again, “also in the library.” 

“You’ve got to retrain your body,” Claude said, tapping his temple. “Teach it to run on a couple hours sleep.”

“Sounds awful.” 

“There you go, thinking small again,” he tutted, shaking his head. “Help me with the desk, won’t you?” He was a step ahead of you, stood at the far left left of the table with his hands planted firmly on the corners. 

You dawdled over, glancing down. The desk was still covered with Seteth’s meticulously placed belongings - piles of paper, quills, books, a pair of reading glasses. Nothing was out of place, and you didn't have the bravery to mess with it too much. That'd _really_ raise Seteth's ire. 

“It’ll be fine,” Claude said, as if reading your mind. “And besides, if anything falls off, we’ll just put it back.”

“In the wrong place?”

“Exactly.” 

That wasn't comforting in the slightest. But Claude's mind was set on this. If you weren't going to help him, he'd find a way to do it himself. 

“You sure this will work?” You asked, ensuring you had a firm grip on your end of the desk. It _felt_ like it'd work, but... 

“Oh, _yeah_ ,” Claude snorted, “can you imagine the look on his face? Everything in this room, just a little bit out of order. It’s sure to send someone like him into a fit.” 

You thought about it for a moment. Seteth, walking into his office, finding that everything was just a few inches out of place… 

Yeah. You could see it. 

“You agree with me,” Claude smirked, “I can see it on your face.” 

His entire face lit up as he smiled at you. It was like he was glowing, green eyes glinting with genuine joy for once, the corners of his mouth upturned with sincerity.

You swallowed, looking away. Sometimes, that smile was _too_ bright.

 _Say anything,_ you thought, _literally anything._

“Flayn’ll love it,” you smiled, the thought of her her clasping her hands together and beaming with delight flooding your mind. 

“See? This is for the common good,” Claude said. Perhaps you were imagining it, but it seemed like he was a tad more smug than he was a moment ago. 

“Oh, of course,” you nodded, “as always.” 

“Glad we’re on the same page,” he smiled, more to himself than at you. “Alright, on the count of three. One… two… three!”

You both lifted the table up with a grunt. It was much, _much_ heavier than you’d anticipated. What was this thing _made_ out of? It was probably worth more than all your belongings combined. 

“Quickly now,” Claude grunted. You didn’t need to be told twice. Arms straining, you stumbled back a few paces. That's as far as you were able to go, apparently. You grip loosened and the table thunked to the floor loudly; you'd just managed to jerk your toes out of the way, let alone soften the fall. 

Your eyes snapped to Claude’s. His snapped to you. 

Dead silence. More silence. And even more silence. 

“You reckon anyone heard that?” He whispered.

“Not sure,” you whispered back, letting go of the desk. A dull ache rippled through your arm. It felt like you'd been swinging a sword at a training dummy all day (or maybe like you'd been the latest victim in Hilda's schemes to get out of her chores). The quietest of groans escaped your throat. 

“You alright?” Claude frowned, tilting his head at you as he dashed towards you. 

“My arms,” you groaned, rubbing your biceps. 

“Sorry about that,” he cringed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess the table’s made of better stuff than I anticipated, huh?” 

“If my arms hurt too much for practice tomorrow, you owe me dinner,” you narrowed your eyes at him. 

Claude laughed, reaching over to poke your cheek. You swatted his hand away before he could make contact. His eyes flickered for a moment as he pulled back, pouting at you. 

“Hey, don’t complain,” he whined, “you agreed to do this.” 

You pressed your lips together. Sure, he was right, but you didn’t want to _say_ it. 

“You just can’t resist my charms, can you?” A disgusting grin crossed his face as he winked at you. 

You stared at him, face blank despite the way your heart hammered in your chest. 

“Oh, Claude, sweetie,” you sighed, “you know my heart already belongs to one Sylvain Gautier. I might just die if I don’t–”

“Shh,” Claude put a finger to his lips, suppressing what you knew was probably raucous laughter, “if you start that again, you know I’m not gonna stay quiet.” 

“It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?” You raised an eyebrow at him. This whole thing had been much less covert than you'd hoped. 

“You wound me yet again,” he chuckled, making his way for the door. 

Again? What did that mean? 

“We should go,” he murmured, looking over his shoulder at you. “Before they come investigate.”

“Right,” you nodded. 

Claude slipped out the door without a sound, and you followed as quietly as you could on your tiptoes. 

The hallway felt smaller at night. Almost claustrophobic. During the day you wouldn't think much of it, but now the stone feels a little too cold, the air a little too dank. The absence of life, of the bustle and chatter of people really transformed a place, didn't it?

The door to Manuela's office was slightly ajar as you passed by, giving you a good glimpse of her anatomy mannequin. The moonlight cast a ghastly glow over it, throwing stark shadows across its blank face that seemed to be staring at you. 

You grabbed Claude’s coat sleeve without thinking. 

Did he just… chuckle? 

You tried to swallow the dryness in your throat, fingers still clamped tight around the fabric of his sleeve. You weren't about to let go. Not until you were out of here, anyway. 

A quiet creak from the other end of the building. 

Footsteps. 

_Shit_ , you thought. 

You looked up at Claude. He was already looking at you. 

“ _Run_ ,” he grinned, grabbing your hand.

You didn’t have time to respond.

Claude took off down the hallway, you stumbling behind. 

“Claude von Riegan–”

“Now’s not the time!” 

He was laughing. All attempts at being discreet were off. 

The two of you thundered down the hall, your footsteps loud and harsh against the wooden floor. You skidded round the corner and headed straight for the stairwell, slowing down only slightly to descend the stairs. Claude, his hand still wrapped around yours, didn’t take such precautions. He bound down the stairs two at a time, a shit-eating grin plastered to his face. 

You heart felt like it was about to give out, but you didn’t stop. You just let him half-drag you downwards, rushing out of the entryway and onto the stone pathways of the ground floor. 

And you two kept running. And running. And running. 

If carrying the table didn’t leave you sore tomorrow, this definitely would. 

Claude didn’t stop until you were in front of the greenhouse. He finally let go of your hand, stumbling a few feet away from you. 

“That was a close one,” he laughed, bent over with his hands on his knees. 

“It’s not over yet,” you murmured, looking over your shoulder. No way the guards had given up. Not when there were gremlins about. 

“You make for your dorm,” he panted, gesturing towards the row of commoner dorms only a few feet away. “I’ll cover for you.”

“Nonsense,” you rolled your eyes. “I’m not going to let you get in trouble.”

“You care about me that much, huh?” He straightened up, a sly smile painting his face. 

You had half a mind to punch him in the gut. He looks so... _satisfied_ , so...

You scoffed, shaking your head. “What do you think, Your Future–”

Out the corner of your eye, a glint of silver in the moonlight. You grabbed his elbow and pulled him into the shadowy crevice behind the greenhouse. 

The only sounds you could hear was your laboured breathing and your blood hammering in your ears. 

You were _so_ stupid. 

Were you really risking getting into trouble for Claude von Riegan? Claude, who would be absolutely fine if he was caught breaking the rules? If you got in trouble too many times, you could lose your spot at the Monastery. Claude had given you the chance to dodge punishment not a _minute_ ago. 

The most stupid thing you’d ever done, though, was let yourself get to close to him. Like now. 

He was close. Far too close. Close enough for you to feel the warmth of his chest, to see the intricate detailing of his uniform, for his breath tickle your forehead. And for once everything was silent, like the world had forced you to pause in this moment. There was no escape. 

You tried your best to ignore the thundering in your chest. You knew he was looking at you. 

“My my, aren’t you getting bold?” He murmured. His voice was low, deep. _Attractive_. Was he doing that on purpose? 

You could feel your cheeks burning. “I’m going to throttle you.”

“See, you keep saying that like it’d be a _bad_ thing,” Claude smirked, giving you a wink. 

You elbowed his stomach. 

“ _Ow_!” He hissed. But he was still smiling at you. 

You looked up at him then, fighting the feeling in your chest. It wasn’t a foreign feeling; it has been bothering you more and more as of late. And you hated it. It was _weird._ Some instinctive part of you knew what it was. But you were too afraid to acknowledge it. You didn’t _want_ to acknowledge it. 

What would it even mean for you? He was the next Duke of the Alliance. He had responsibilities in his future that you couldn’t even _dream_ of. And yes, he was your friend here and now, but what about in a year? In five? You were stupid enough to let the two of you get as close as you had as _friends_ , let alone–

His fingers brushed against the side of your face. What was he doing? You froze, staring up at him. There was something new in his eyes, something not unfamiliar, but… rare. You’d seen this look before; out the corner of your eye as you poured over a book in the library, on one of those needlessly late nights. You’d seen it when you’d been rambling about popular folkore amongst the Alliance laity. You’d also seen it when you’d been talking about your wishes for the future; for a fairer, more equal world. 

_No, no, no._ You couldn’t think about this. Not here. Not now. 

“Are they gone?” You blurted out, praying that your entire face wasn’t blindingly red. 

Claude snapped back to reality, his eyes widening for just a moment before he peeked around the corner. 

“Looks all clear to me,” he shrugged. 

“Right,” you nodded. For some forsaken reason, your legs wouldn’t move. 

“We, ah,” Claude swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, “we should go. Not a great idea to be out this late, you know.” 

You nodded, stepping out from behind the greenhouse. The breeze felt much cooler on your blushed skin than it had before. If you were quick about it, you had a chance of sneaking back into your dorm, given it was only on the bottom floor. Being a commoner had _some_ benefits. How Claude managed to get in and out of his room… well, that was a whole other matter. 

“Don’t do anything stupid,” you said, almost as an afterthought. 

“Too much of an ask,” Claude tutted, shaking his head. 

Of course. Stupid request. 

You turned to him with a smile, reaching to ruffle his hair. He raised an eyebrow at you, painting an almost convincing look of displeasure. But the way his lips quirked up at the corners gave him away. 

“Alright, fine,” he chuckled. “Just for you.” 


End file.
